Today we’d like to introduce you to Melanie Kammerer.
Hi Melanie, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
My initial start in the wedding industry was in catering. I quickly learned the ins and outs of how a wedding day flows, and how the different meal styles, layouts and flavors reflected the personality of each couple. The mealtime is such an important part of the celebration and guests spend a significant portion of the wedding together at the tables.
Then I met Vicky Furman and moved into full service wedding planning on her team. As a wedding planner, you have a responsibility of bringing the couples overall vision to life in each aspect of their day–logistically, physically, and financially. There’s such a magic to bringing these aspects alive cohesively for such an important day, and I was hooked!
We have extremely talented wedding vendors located in the Florida Keys, but I kept feeling as though our couples and our vendors deserved to have more local options dedicated to tabletop no matter which florist or rental company they were using. I began expanding my vendor search to the mainland to bring in some variety, but being located in the Keys, adding on the two-way shipping for heavy dinnerware on top of the rental fees pushed the option out of budget for many couples, and I wanted to change that. There’s also such an advantage to working with local vendor who is there to deliver, setup and pick up the items at the end of the night.
Initially as a planner, I ordered a set of dinnerware for a wedding that really brought the couple’s vision together-and wasn’t available anywhere to rent. I knew I wanted to continue expanding and providing these options to all Florida Keys couples, but I also knew I wanted and needed to remain available for current and future couples as a wedding planner. Fortunately, my long distance boyfriend in Wisconsin decided to relocate to the Keys to help truly start and run the company.
From there, Set The Table was born! Our collection has grown quite a bit since that first wedding and continues to grow. We now offer over 3,000 rental pieces, linen rentals, and day of stationery to bring the full table design together.
Fun Fact:
While the name Set The Table seems fairly obvious, it’s actually a bocce league reference. We play in the Southernmost Bocce League and a long time player and teammate, Michael “Auggy” Aldridge, would always say “come on kid, set the table” in reference to the first toss (or set) of the frame.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Starting any new businesses certainly has its hurdles. In the beginning there were more than few moving parts. For one, we had to physically get Harvey moved from Wisconsin to the Florida Keys.
In general, dinnerware is an interesting industry and building the collection takes time. We carefully examine new pieces for quality and functionality, taking into account how they can be layered and work together on the table. We can be very excited to see new items come in, only to find they’re not up to our standards and need to start looking again.
We’ve been impressed with Set The Table Key West, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Set The Table specializes in tabletop rentals and tablescape design. Whether it’s a dinner party for someone’s birthday or a full scale wedding, we love to help bring the table to life both in vision/beauty and functionality. We work directly with the host/couple/planners/designers/caterers to make sure each piece is thought through.
For instance, the dinner service style (plated meal service vs buffet vs cocktail party) determines a lot of what your tables may need. If you plan to place thank you cards at each seat, or if you are hosting a family style dinner at your home–we make sure the pieces not only look the part, but work well with all of the aspects of your table. We take the time to understand your vision and provide insights on why certain pieces may fit better based on table sizes, dinner service or intended guest experiences.
Working in the Keys, we also take into consideration your venue and other vendors–will dinner be outdoors or inside? These details matter when it comes to considering the lighting, wind (for stationery), table placements, etc. If the couple has booked a certain caterer or venue, we will help take into account both the venue’s standard setup or items included with their catering package to incorporate into the overall table mockup options. Our goal is to add variety and options, never to duplicate what already might be available.
Some of our proudest moments so far have been a few very last minute events. In one instance a caterer had received the wrong color napkin, but we were able to add tabletop to bring her vision back together. During a very stressful moment on such an important day, we were there to make it all come together better than she initially planned.
Can you tell us more about what you were like growing up?
Melanie is the youngest of six kids from Kansas, while Harvey is the oldest of two brothers from Wisconsin. Both growing up in avid football fandoms, we are both life long fans of our respective NFL teams (Kansas City Chiefs for Melanie and Green Bay Packers for Harvey).
Melanie was always very studious growing up while Harvey would rather enjoy the outdoors than be in a classroom. We both have fond memories of weeknight family dinners and large family holiday gatherings—and we both love to cook, so we appreciate a great meal shared amongst our family, neighbors and friends.
Pricing:
- Tabletop Rental Items range from $3-$12 depending on the piece
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.setthetablekeywest.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/setthetablekeywest/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/Set-The-Table-Key-West/61586949633985/
- Other: hello@setthetablekeywest.com
